Lipases have been used for formation and enhancement of the flavor of dairy products. Traditionally, there have been used preparations of lipases from kids, calves, or lambs. These ruminant lipases have a specificity that short-chain fatty acids (C4 and C6 fatty acids) are released from milk fat, and are suitable for the formation of the flavor of dairy products.
However, there is a strong industrial need for an alternative to animal-derived lipases because kosher or halal qualities are required for enzyme preparations utilized for food processing. To meet the need, proposals have been made, for example, to use microbial enzymes (for example, Patent Document 1) and recombinant enzymes (for example, Patent Document 2). In addition, attempts have also been made to modify lipases by genetic engineering, for application to particular purposes (for example, Patent Documents 3 to 5).